1966 Trans-American Sedan Championship

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1966 Trans-Am Series
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The 1966 Trans-American Sedan Championship was the inaugural running of the Sports Car Club of America's Trans-Am Series auto racing series. It was open to FIA Group 1 and FIA Group 2 cars and was contested over seven races. [1] Manufacturers titles were awarded for both Over 2 Liter and Under 2 Liter cars with Ford and Alfa Romeo winning their respective class championships. [1] Horst Kwech and Gaston Andrey were subsequently named Drivers Co-Champions in 1980 when the SCCA retroactively named drivers championships for the series after the 1980 season.

Contents

Schedule

Alfa Romeo won the Under 2 liter championship with its GTA model Kwech gta vir 66.jpg
Alfa Romeo won the Under 2 liter championship with its GTA model

The championship was contested over a seven race series. [1] Overall winner race winners are shown in bold.

Rnd [1] Race [1] Date [1] Circuit [1] Distance [1] Over 2 liter - Winning car [1] Under 2 liter - Winning car [1]
Over 2 liter - Winning driver(s) [1] Under 2 liter - Winning driver(s) [1]
1Sebring 4-Hour International Touring RaceMarch 25 Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida 348.4 mi (560.7 km) Dodge Dart Alfa Romeo GTA
Flag of the United States.svg Bob Tullius
Flag of the United States.svg Tony Adamowicz
Flag of Austria.svg Jochen Rindt
2Mid-America 300June 12 Mid-America Raceway, Wentzville, Missouri 299.25 mi (481.60 km) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA
Flag of the United States.svg Tom Yeager
Flag of the United States.svg Bob Johnson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Horst Kwech
Flag of Switzerland.svg Gaston Andrey
3Bryar 250July 10 Bryar Motorsports Park, Loudon, New Hampshire 250 mi (400 km) Plymouth Barracuda Ford Cortina Lotus
Flag of the United States.svg Bruce Jennings Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Allan Moffat
4VIR 400July 31 Virginia International Raceway, Danville, Virginia 400.5 mi (644.5 km) Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA
Flag of the United States.svg Tom Yeager
Flag of the United States.svg Bob Johnson
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Horst Kwech
Flag of Switzerland.svg Gaston Andrey
5Marlboro 12-HourAugust 14 Marlboro Park Speedway, Upper Marlboro, Maryland 12 Hours
688.5 mi (1,108.0 km)
Dodge Dart Alfa Romeo GTA
Flag of the United States.svg Bob Tullius
Flag of the United States.svg Tony Adamowicz
Flag of the United States.svg Harry Theodorocopulous
Flag of the United States.svg Sam Posey
6Pan-American Endurance RaceSeptember 10 Green Valley Raceway, Smithfield, Texas 6 Hours
391.84 mi (630.61 km)
Ford Mustang Alfa Romeo GTA
Flag of the United States.svg John McComb
Flag of the United States.svg Brad Booker
Flag of Australia (converted).svg Horst Kwech
Flag of Switzerland.svg Gaston Andrey
7Riverside 4-hour raceSeptember 18 Riverside International Raceway, Riverside, California 4 Hours
351 mi (565 km)
Ford Mustang Lotus Cortina
Flag of the United States.svg Jerry Titus Flag of Australia (converted).svg Frank Gardner
[1]

Season review

The Dodge Dart of Bob Tullius won the Over 2 liter class at the opening race at Sebring International Raceway, while the Alfa Romeo GTA of Formula One driver Jochen Rindt won the Under 2 liter class and was placed first overall. [1]

Over the course of the championship Ford Mustangs won the Over 2 liter class at four races with Dodge Darts winning twice and Plymouth Barracuda once. [1] Alfa Romeo GTAs won the Under 2 liter class at five races with Ford Cortina Lotus winning twice. [1] Ford and Alfa Romeo won their respective class championships. [1]

Points system

Points were awarded according to finishing position. [1] Only the highest-placed car scored points for the manufacturer. [1] Drivers' championships were not awarded in Trans-Am until 1972.

1st2nd3rd4th5th6th
964321

Championship standings

Over 2 liter class

Pos [1] Manufacturer [1] Seb MAR Bry VIR Mar GRV RIV Pts [1]
1 Ford 512151146
2 Chrysler-Plymouth 221322539
3 Dodge 15413233
4 Chevrolet 43
[1]

Under 2 liter class

Pos [1] Manufacturer [1] Seb MAR Bry VIR Mar GRV RIV Pts [1]
1 Alfa Romeo 112111257
2 Ford of Britain 2122136
3 BMW 644
4 BMC 43
5 Volvo 52
6 Fiat Abarth 61
[1]

The cars

The following models scored championship points for their respective manufacturers.

Over 2 liter class

Under 2 liter class

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 "1966 Trans-Am Box Scores" (PDF). Sports Car Club of America. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  2. Four Hour Governor’s Cup for Sedans, touringcarracing.net Retrieved on 15 April 2015
  3. VIR 400, touringcarracing.net Retrieved on 15 April 2015
  4. The Great Race - Marlboro 12 hour, touringcarracing.net Retrieved on 15 April 2015